Updating NSX Transport Node Profile HostSwitchMode to ENS_INTERRUPT fails with Error code: 609680

Products

• VMware NSX

Issue/Introduction

• When attempting to update an existing Transport Node Profile (TNP) to change the HostSwitchMode to ENS_INTERRUPT (Enhanced Datapath), the update fails.
• The NSX Manager UI returns an error similar to the following:

  Error: HostSwitchMode update on Transport node profile /infra/host-transport-node-profiles/<TransportNodeProfile> from {## ## ## ## ## ## ## ##-## ## ## ## ## ## ## fa=STANDARD, ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ##-## ## ## ## ## ## ## aa=ENS_INTERRUPT} to {## ## ## ## ## ## ## ##-## ## ## ## ## ## ## fa=ENS_INTERRUPT, ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ##-## ## ## ## ## ## ## aa=ENS_INTERRUPT} is disallowed on cluster ########-####-####-####-############:domain-c# to avoid HostSwitchMode updates. Make HostSwitchMode changes on each Transport Node within the cluster before updating it in TransportNodeProfile. (Error code: 609680)

• Entries similar to the below will be observed in /var/log/nsx-audit.log on the NSX Manager:

  INFO NSX 10262 [nsx@4413 audit="true" comp="nsx-manager" level="INFO" logger="NsxBaseRestController" msgID="SYSTEM" subcomp="manager" threadName="http-nio-127.0.0.1-7440-exec-2799"] UserName:'admin' ModuleName:'policy' Operation:'PUT@/api/v1/infra/sites/default/enforcement-points/default/transport-node-collections/########-####-####-####-############' Operation status: 'failure' Error: HostSwitchMode update on Transport node profile /infra/host-transport-node-profiles/<TransportNodeProfile> from {## ## ## ## ## ## ## ##-## ## ## ## ## ## ## fa=STANDARD, ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ##-## ## ## ## ## ## ## aa=ENS_INTERRUPT} to {## ## ## ## ## ## ## ##-## ## ## ## ## ## ## fa=ENS_INTERRUPT, ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ##-## ## ## ## ## ## ## aa=ENS_INTERRUPT} is disallowed on cluster ########-####-####-####-############:domain-c# to avoid HostSwitchMode updates. Make HostSwitchMode changes on each Transport Node within the cluster before updating it in TransportNodeProfile.

• Using esxcfg-vswitch -l on the ESXi hosts confirms that one or more host switches mapped to the TNP are actively configured as standard rather than ENS.

  DVS Name         Num Ports   Used Ports  Configured Ports  MTU     Uplinks
  DVS#1            9216        8           64                9000    vmnic3,vmnic2
  
  DVS Name         Num Ports   Used Ports  Configured Ports  MTU     Uplinks
  DVS#2            9216        16          64                9000    vmnic1,vmnic0

• Using esxcfg-nics -e or esxcli network ens switch list on the ESXi hosts shows ENS Driven: False for the uplinks mapped to the standard host switch.
  

  Name    Driver      ENS Capable   ENS Driven    INTR Capable  INTR Enabled  MAC Address       Description
  vmnic0  bnxtnet     True          True          True          True          ##:##:##:##:##:## Broadcom BCM57414 NetXtreme-E 10Gb/25Gb RDMA Ethernet Controller
  vmnic1  bnxtnet     True          True          True          True          ##:##:##:##:##:## Broadcom BCM57414 NetXtreme-E 10Gb/25Gb RDMA Ethernet Controller
  vmnic2  bnxtnet     True          False         True          False         ##:##:##:##:##:## Broadcom BCM57414 NetXtreme-E 10Gb/25Gb RDMA Ethernet Controller
  vmnic3  bnxtnet     True          False         True          False         ##:##:##:##:##:## Broadcom BCM57414 NetXtreme-E 10Gb/25Gb RDMA Ethernet Controller

Note: The preceding log excerpts are only examples. Date, time, and environmental variables may vary depending on your environment.

Environment

VMware NSX

VCF 9

Cause

This issue occurs because the NSX Manager intentionally blocks Transport Node Profile updates that alter the HostSwitchMode on a live cluster if the underlying cluster nodes have not been manually updated to the target mode first. This is a safety mechanism to prevent automated datapath disruption. The TNP configuration requested a HostSwitchMode change to ENS_INTERRUPT for a host switch, which mismatched the actual physical realization on the transport nodes running in STANDARD mode.

Resolution

This is a condition that may occur in a VMware NSX environment.

To resolve this issue, you must align the ESXi node-level host switch mode with the intended TNP configuration before applying the profile update, ensure that the ESXi host is in maintenance mode prior to making the change, see Enabling EDP Standard in Active Environments.

1. If Enhanced Datapath (EDP) is intended for the impacted host switch:
   • Navigate to System > Fabric > Nodes > Host Transport Nodes.
   • Edit each individual ESXi host in the cluster.
   • Manually override the target Host Switch to ENS_INTERRUPT.
   • Verify all underlying nodes successfully report ENS_INTERRUPT mode.
   • Reapply the Transport Node Profile update.
2. If Enhanced Datapath (EDP) is not intended for the impacted host switch:
   • Modify the Transport Node Profile configuration via UI or API.
   • Set the impacted Host Switch host_switch_mode back to STANDARD.
   • Reapply the Transport Node Profile update.